SAN ANTONIO -- Late in the third quarter of Sunday's signature win of the season for the Mavericks, Seth Curry worked the pick-and-roll on consecutive possessions, and the defense left him for easy 14-foot shots in the paint.

Curry's 3-point shot has made him one of the Mavs' new go-to weapons offensively. With defenses playing him for that, we're finding out that the 6-foot-2 guard can do a few more things inside the arc.

And we're continuing to find out that if these Mavericks really want to have a high draft pick in June, they have a strange way of going about it. They played their best overall game of the season, breaking a 12-game regular-season losing streak at AT&T Center with a 105-101 victory over the Spurs.

Dirk Nowitzki hopes to bring same fight from San Antonio vs. 'best all-around player in our game'

This is a Spurs team that had won 117 consecutive games at home when leading by 10 or more points at halftime. That streak ended courtesy of the 17-30 Mavericks.

And even with injuries still sapping the manpower, the Mavericks are finding ways to get better.

Curry is perhaps the biggest surprise. He had 24 points and 10 rebounds against the Spurs, in addition to five assists.

It's clear that Curry has become a more featured piece at the offensive end.

"We know he can score," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's a capable scorer, no question about it and whenever we can get him good shots, it's a good thing for us.

"I'm just really impressed with the 10 rebounds. That's a big difference-maker when our guards rebound like that."

The Mavericks needed Curry's rebounding as well as his scoring to nail down this win, which has leveled their record at 1-1 in a three-game gantlet that started in Oklahoma City and ends Monday against defending NBA champion Cleveland at American Airlines Center.

Curry said he and his teammates simply wanted to give themselves a fighting chance.

"I heard it's been six years since we got a win here," Curry said. "We knew if we played 48 minutes, we'd have a chance at the end. We found a way to get it done."

What Curry did late in the third quarter kept the Mavericks on equal footing with the Spurs. Then he nailed a 3-pointer that put them up 94-87.

New guy or vet? Yogi Ferrell hits clutch free throws in first game with Mavericks to clinch win over Spurs

From there, it was a matter of hanging on, and rookie newcomer Yogi Ferrell and Harrison Barnes made sure they did.

For Curry, the land of the paint is becoming a home for him as teams wrestle with how to guard him on the perimeter.

It paid off when he split the defense and got to the rim for a layup with 25.3 seconds left that put the Mavericks up 103-98. Ferrell made two clutch free throws with 7.3 seconds left to ice it.

"I'm just trying to get into the paint and take what the defense gives us," Curry said of his late run to the rim. "We needed a bucket and I wasn't sure how they were going to play the pick-and-roll, but it opened up for me. When Harrison or Dirk [Nowitzki] set the screen, a lot of times the defense doesn't really know what to do."

Nowitzki, by the way, said he couldn't remember the last time the Mavericks won at AT&T Center in the regular season. But he knew that Curry was a catalyst for them.

"Seth was incredible," Nowitzki said. "I feel like every time he shoots a three, it's going in. It's been fun to watch. What I underestimated is he's really quick. He's a great driver and he's got a great float game. I'm happy for him."

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